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ORION Project (Earth-5875)
The ORION Project, later retroactively named the SPARTAN-I Program, was the first attempt of the UNSC Navy and the Colonial Administration Authority of creating biochemically augmented supersoldiers. The project was secretly created as a response to the growing Insurrectionist threat during the Secession. Even though it was moderately successful, the ORION Project was cancelled years after, but its legacy would survive through the following SPARTAN programs. History Origins The ORION Project (named after the mythological character of the same name) started in the mid-22nd century, shortly after the formation of the UNSC, which began to develop bio-engineering programs and protocols to enhance human soldiers and civilians, one such program being gene therapy. These substances were much more primitive compared to modern chemicals, but they revealed promise for future augmentations, paving the way for soldiers and civilians to become enhanced in various forms. Initial version The first ORION Project iteration was activated by the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Colonial Administration Authority on April 13th, 2321 to increase the effectiveness of the UNSC Marine Corps, so that the future of new colonies could be guaranteed secured. Five top Marines were selected for the augmentations, but the project was ultimately put on hold duo to poor results and budgetary problems. These soldiers were reintegrated into the Marine Corps, but, for classified reasons, all soldiers died the same year. Secondary version As the civil unrest in the late 2400s led to the Secession, the CAA believed they would not be able to stop the Insurrectionist movements with their assets, and so they worked alongside ONI to secretly relaunch the ORION Project following numerous acts of terrorism through the Outer Colonies. Beginning on January 29th, 2491, the project initially consisted of 65 volunteers, only to rise to 100 participants. Their first deployment occurred on January 12th, 2496 during Operation CHARLEGMAGNE, where ORIONs were sent to recover a sub-orbital transit station on Eridanus II. They were successful in this mission, with only a single casualty and without any detection. Because of the success of CHARLEGMAGNE, ORIONs started to be used during many covert operations and fleshed out an array of ONI propaganda. The soldiers were later deployed during Operation VERITAS, where they discovered that a large number of CAA agents were secretly involved with the Sovereign Colonies. Operation KALEIDOSCOPE and cancellation Operation KALEIDOSCOPE was activated in 2502, with many ORIONs being sent to eliminate rebel bases, and kill Insurrectionist leader Jerald Mulkey Ander, leader of the Sovereign Colonies. They were able to complete their mission on March 13th, 2502, with the assassination of Ander at the hands of ORION Corporal Avery Johnson. Coped with the annihilation of the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces at Eridanus II during Operation TREBUCHET, the Sovereign Colonies were all but finished, but their fall and Jerald's death served to give him martyrdom and inspire other movements from rising up against the UEG and the UNSC. By the time the operation had long ended, however, many ORIONs were suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder or developed side effects from the augmentations, including mental illness. With the continuing poor performances and side-effects, Operation TANGLEWOOD was the last mission of ORIONs in the field. The ORION Project was cancelled without incident in mid 2506, and its surviving 165 participants were reassigned to either the UNSC Marine Corps or the UNSC Navy, still exhibiting their augmentation side effects. As a result, most of them were discharged from the Corps, at the excuse of mental illnesses. To guarantee the secret of the project, the augmentation side effects were masked as Boren's syndrome, a real, deadly disease that killed thousands one century prior. Few of the retiring ORIONs had children, which unknowingly received the enhanced abilities and intelligence given to their parents, but without any mental defects, becoming known as SPARTAN-1.1s. Some ORIONs, like Avery Johnson, were able to retain their normality and continue serving in the UNSC even after the program's decommissioning. Legacy The ORION Project and its biochemically augmentation techniques paved the way to the SPARTAN-II Program and its successors, which only improved where ORION fell short: the candidate's ages, which rejected the augmentations and produced less-than-stellar results. The heads of both the SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III programs decided to use prepubescent children, which possessed specific genetic markers to use as future supersoldiers, which was highly classified and unethical. Such a thing was different to the SPARTAN-IV Program, which, much like ORION, started to use consenting adults, though at less powerful enhancement procedures. Known personnel *Sergeant Major Avery Johnson (Deceased) *Sergeant John Forge (Deceased) *Sergeant Nolan Byrne (Deceased) *ORION 047 (Deceased) Category:Earth-5875 Category:SPARTAN-Is of Earth-5875 Category:SPARTAN Programs of Earth-5875 Category:UNSC Special Forces (Earth-5875) Category:SPARTANs of Earth-5875 Category:UNSC projects (Earth-5875) Category:Created by Draft227